Trends Changing with the Times
by Rikkamaru
Summary: An AU where Touya starts his journey two years before the game takes place, with a different outcome than anyone could have expected. And slowly, it's realized that the saying, "Red is the new Black" is meant to go the other way around.


Don't own Pokemon.

Trends Changing with the Times

* * *

The first thing Touya ever heard was a quiet, "Auudiii…"

The first thing he remembers hearing was the doctor apologizing to his parents. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Kurozuka. It appears an Audino present at one of your son's check-ups contracted Pokerus and, without a proper immune system, your son contracted it as well. We don't know what this will do to your son. I'm truly sorry for this."

Touya didn't understand why the man was apologizing, but he forgave him regardless of why. That's what the five-year old's mother had taught him, after all. He didn't say this though, because he couldn't speak yet (which worried his parents), and instead cradled the doctor's squeaking Solosis. The small psychic pokemon cooed at the attention and Touya smiled at the creature and whispered airy sounds back at it.

He didn't notice the looks he received from his lack of vocal development, but if he had, he would not have cared.

* * *

_We always search the world, alone. Always alone._ He looked at the shaking bundle of fur before him, his eyes black and thoughts quiet. He looked around, trying to catch sight of the Emolga's family, but saw nothing.

_It's clear we don't want to be, so why must we be so?_ He looked at the creature passively, before sighing and unwinding the scarf around his neck.

_I…I don't want to be alone anymore. I…am tired of not being heard. I…I…_ "I need you." He said quietly, his conviction clear, and reached out. He wrapped the scarf around the Emolga, its yellow eyes opening half-way to take in his face, and cradled it in his hands.

He slowly carried it home, and felt it nuzzle his hands. "…It's okay," he whispered, "you're not alone."

…_Not anymore._

* * *

He stared at the three brothers in front of him, who looked back just as blankly. He wondered what color hair their parent's had, to make such vivid colors, as Cilan cleared his throat.

"S-So…" he stuttered, "what's your starter?" Touya looked at them, confused, before gesturing to the Emolga on his shoulder. This initiated another round of stares, until it was decided that he would have the least advantage fighting Chili.

His challenging the Unova league began.

* * *

His hands were awkward around the orange and brown egg placed in his care, his eyes uncertain as Emolga chattered in question and moved closer to it. She tapped it softly before losing interest and clambering to rest in the hood of his jacket.

His jacket was insulated with a drawstring for the bottom, and so he tightened the bottom as much as possible, placed the egg to rest against his stomach, and zipped the jacket closed.

The egg twitched, as if pleased with the contact, and nothing Touya could do could stop the smile that flitted across his face.

* * *

Touya's surprised cry echoed around the cave, followed by a furious screech as Emolga lunged at the flapping pokemon that had attacked her Trainer. She did a Thunder Wave – Quick Attack combo, and would've followed up were it not for the pokeball that hit the other flying pokemon before she did, its form disappearing in a red light.

Emolga turned to shoot him a glare but he merely shrugged and picked up the ball, clipping it to his belt then offering Emolga his arm to climb up. She gave an annoyed sound but checked the egg and perched on his shoulder once more.

He was forced to stop another fight in Nacrene when their newest member perched on his hat and sent Emolga into a jealous fit.

* * *

Nacrene City was an acceptable town, but it was cold. That didn't mean much to Touya, though; he always felt cold.

Emolga and Woobat were fighting above the roof tops while Touya made himself comfortable with the egg in his arms. It was restless, twitching and responding vigorously to his touch.

And then suddenly, the egg cracked.

The disruption raced down the side of the egg and gave away with an audible _crkkk_! Warm brown eyes looked at him, and the creature asked a curious, "Tep?" He smiled, as uncertain as the first time he held the egg, and the Tepig beamed back. "Tepig!"

The next day, Tepig charged at the enemy while engulfed in flames, and the Herdier fell defeated at Lenora's feet.

* * *

Five years ago, an undercover investigation revealed that Unova had the highest percentage of legal cases involving pokemon abuse in the world, the other regions not even reaching half of Unova's percentage. The Elite Four tried their hardest to combat it, especially Champion Alder, but some reaves of the miasma still lingered in the more populated or isolated cities.

It was unacceptable, Touya decided, as he punched the smirking trainer before him. The boy hit his head against a lamp post, and fell to the ground, limp.

He searched the boy's pockets and pulled out a pokeball that the boy claimed held his Snivy. The very same Snivy that had run away in fear of the boy before Touya's very eyes.

A growl escaped his throat and the pokeball shattered in his hand, freeing the Snivy that was hiding in Pinwheel Forest.

He turned and let the trees swallow him, the light of Emolga's Flash and the sound of Woobat's wings his only comfort in the night.

* * *

Touya wasn't as cold when he woke up the next morning. The sun was only just waking, the earth itself still sound asleep to the weak rays scattered about. All of his team was out, Tepig asleep on Touya's stomach with his jackey zipped over him, Woobat nestled against his shoulder and neck and Emolga curled up on his chest.

He turned his head carefully, looking for his hat, and blinked. Coiled up in his hat was the Snivy from yesterday, its face at ease with its surroundings. The rest woke up, prepared to leave and, when they started to step out of the glade they had found last night, the Snivy climbed up his pants leg and clung to the belt loops.

He stepped out of the forest one pokemon stronger.

* * *

Castelia was loud. And, with all of the people around him, incredibly cold as well. He checked into the PokeCenter and saw a large crowd of trainers there.

"Hey!" he jumped, and turned to the man shouting in his ear. "Are you going to challenge the gym?" He shrugged and nodded. "Well haven't you heard? The new gym leader's done something crazy to the gym and no one wants to go!"

He stared at the man, shared a look with Emolga, and walked out. "Hey! Where are you going?" He ignored the man, uncaring that he trailed behind him, and approached the gym.

Two hours later, he emerged again, honey painting his skin golden. Pinned to the inside of his jacket was a new badge, and tucked into his pocket was a pass to Liberty Garden; a "prize" for being the first trainer to go through and conquer the renovated gym.

He left as a crowd began to form at the gym's entrance, moving forward while others remained stagnant.

* * *

The room under the lighthouse wasn't cold. It had laughing blue eyes and the creature squealed and hopped and played with all of Touya's pokemon. Smiling came easier, and the numbness was but a distant memory.

Another pokemon appeared, its wintery white and blue fur mixing chaotically with Tepig's orange and brown.

Soon it was time to leave, and the coldness started to return. The creature whimpered, so Touya scanned it with his pokedex and grabbed a piece of paper. His drawing was clumsy, childish, but Victini squealed all the same at the recognizable group of pokemon and human.

It squealed in glee again when Touya wrapped his scarf around its neck and smiled.

"Promise," he said, his voice rough. Then he turned and walked out, away from the legendary that hugged his picture with one arm and waved at him with the other.

The lighthouse keeper's daughter greeted him when he exited. "Victini looked so happy!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Please take this Oshawott as a thank you."

He would find out weeks later that the lighthouse keeper and his daughter had died thirteen years earlier, an earthquake sending them falling off the top of the lighthouse, the girl landing in front of the entrance to the basement.

* * *

The desert was hazardous to his pokemon, so he was cold during most of the journey through the wasteland. Some pokemon attacked, but it was easy enough to ward them off without his pokemons' assistance. Nimbasa was a welcome enough relief, and he didn't hesitate to release Emolga, who immediately alighted onto his shoulder.

Training was tedious, but was rewarded with a Dewott and Pignite who both puffed up proudly in face of his smile. Snivy stilled flinched if challenged, so Touya refrained from stressing the serpent and instead focused his efforts on teaching the grass-type the art of reading body language and anticipating attacks.

He was as silent while training as he was in battling, a word never escaping his lips, but his pokemon didn't mind. They knew what to do without it ever being said.

* * *

It was in Nimbasa that the coldness had first begun to abate, but it was also the only place where silence had ever disturbed him. It was the place where a loud and warm voice had been silenced forever, where a healthy tan had gone pale and where shining brown eyes had the life snuffed out of them.

They made their business there quick, Emolga proving strong against her kin and Pignite a powerful opponent for Elesa's Zebstrika. As they left, neither Touya nor Emolga's eyes strayed to the Ferris Wheel beside the gym, and both were silent as he passed the Battle Subway with his head down.

As he slept on the Driftveil Bridge that night, feathers clutched in his hand, he dreamt of falling steel girders and an arm, broken in several places, reaching out desperately for help before falling limp.

* * *

The Driftveil gym was almost too easy. Snivy finally became a Servine, his new form dominating the field with an almost startling confidence. If it wasn't Servine out there, it was Dewott, and the two swept away the ground-types with visible ease.

Clay was defeated without much fanfare and Touya was restocking at the market when a roar tore the sky asunder.

* * *

She had lost her child, the officers told him later. Poachers had gotten him, and she had tracked them down all the way from Twisted Mountain to Driftveil City.

Justice was handed out accordingly, with the thieves falling to the Beartic's claws, but the child was dead, its throat already slit by the poachers' greedy hands.

He returned the Cubchoo's body to the Beartic, and she grieved like any mother would. He tried to leave her be, but she grabbed him, and growled the other humans away.

He gained his final teammate then, and she followed without protest.

* * *

There was a young boy there, he mused, when Beartic was mad with sorrow. He had long green hair and wide green eyes, with a Zorua on his shoulder. He had stared at the poachers with not-quite hate, and would not move when the mother was rampaging in the town.

He had Pignite protect the boy as he searched for the baby's body, but when he returned his hatched pokemon was visibly upset. The pokemon returned to his side immediately, uncomfortable around the boy, and the boy in question simply looked lost.

"Why," he had asked, "are your pokemon so happy to be with you?" Touya had shrugged and turned away, Emolga on his shoulder and Pignite hiding from the green-haired boy behind his legs.

"Don't know," he answered curtly. "Wish I did." He then turned and left, the boy's green eyes following him to Chargestone Cave.

* * *

In Skyla's gym his Woobat became a Swoobat and Dewott became a Samurott. Beartic was capable of fighting, but she was also still in mourning for her blood son, so he kept her in her pokeball.

Swoobat, Samurott, and Emolga made easy work of Skyla and her birds. It was when he attempted to leave that he was caught off guard by the gym leader.

"Hey, wait!" called Skyla. She looked at him, her face turning red (to his confusion). "You're that guy, who's been going through the League, aren't you? Black, right?"

Touya looked at her with blank confusion and her blush grew worse as she let out an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry! None of us knew your name so we tried to think one up. Since your starter was Emolga and its outer fur is black, we decided to just call you that. Plus your black jeans, undershirt, eyes…"

The last one confused him, but he said nothing about it. He nodded an affirmation and farewell, and walked out with Emolga and Swoobat on either shoulder.

Once they exited, Emolga lunged at Swoobat, and the two squabbled in the air while Touya touched his right cheekbone. "My eyes…"

They stayed in the Pokemon Center that night, and he finally saw what she meant about his eyes, because they stood out on his tan-pale (the sun helps, but he was always so _cold_) skin and devoured the light around them, like a void of darkness.

They're supposed to be dark brown, but he's cold, so they look black instead.

* * *

He liked caves, he decided. All of his pokemon could handle the atmosphere and opponents, so he could travel easily and warm through the tunnel on his way to Icirrus City. A Boulder appeared, and Servine stepped forward to challenge it.

A Mega Drain and Leaf Blade later, Servine lay convulsing on the ground with a white light enveloping him. As he was evolving, a Cryogonal shot an Ice Beam at him, but Pignite countered with Flamethrower and the two were held in a dead lock until the Flamethrower finally won.

When the Cryogonal faltered, Pignite followed through with a fierce Fire Punch and the ice-type went down. Then Pignite too was glowing with an intense light and, together, the two starters evolved.

Sitting on Emboar's shoulder as they continued journeying through the cave, Touya could've replaced the sun with his smile.

They spent the night in the cave, with Emboar's head on Touya's stomach, Serperior wrapped around his legs, Samurott acting as a giant pillow, Swoobat curled around his head, Emolga on his chest and Beartic watching like a protective mother.

Their family was complete.

* * *

Icirrus was an unusual city, but Touya liked it. The dancers were cheerful and free, their song wrapping him into it at one point. Touya also found that he felt a type of peace when he was in Dragonspiral Tower. He and Emolga stood at the very top of it and looked at the landscape below silently as the wind embraced them.

He felt two presences there, both of them drawing closer to him before shying away, needing to find their true hosts before they communicated with him. He nodded in understanding and left, returning to the City where Emboar proved a perfect antithesis to Brycen's ice-types.

He left even stronger than before with thoughts of dragons and their strange fear of him in his mind.

* * *

Touya puzzled over the oddness that was Opelucid City. He saw a towering metropolis that seemed to be carved out of obsidian and onyx, but then the image would waver, like a mirage, and be replaced with a rustic town of pearl and ivory.

Touya, having preferred the calmer tones of slate and silver for most of his life, was unmoved by both outside of comparing their little differences and vaguely wishing for sunglasses when the pearl blinded him.

He went through the gym carefully, heavily relying on Beartic and Samurott's Ice Beam. This was the most difficult battle, because the two worlds played with each other as he fought, changing the attacks and movements with every one of his and Samurott's synchronized breaths.

His hand twitched, and Samurott parried the Druddigon's tail; his eyes flickered, and Samurott released an Ice Beam that hit the Haxorus at point blank range. He straightened his hat, and the two dragons fell, defeated, and the match was finally over.

Both gym leaders congratulated him and two legends were pressed into his hand. He nodded in thanks and the two peered at him before asking in unison, "Which city do you see?"

He was silent, Samurott guarding his side faithfully, before shrugging. "Both," he answered, and walked away without hearing their response.

* * *

He didn't go straight to the League after collecting all eight badges. Instead, he travelled to the other cities he'd missed, those that lied in the east.

There was something comforting about Lacunosa, similar to the soothing hush of Dragonspiral Tower. The people murmured of a monster that prowled about at night, eating disobedient children. He longed to look more thoroughly into the cave and seek this monster out himself, but Emolga urged him to move on, and so he turned to Undella and relaxed there with his companions.

The bay was calm with some stray pokemon that fell to Serperior and Emolga's attacks. The trainers there were more challenging, with pokemon Touya had never seen before from other regions. His team enjoyed battling them as much as he did, testing their strength and abilities against unknown opponents.

They detoured from the road to go to the Abundant Shrine, where he looked up at the statue of Landorus and felt an uneasy stirring in his mind. He retreated quickly and stumbled through the snow-covered trees to a city blackened by sin.

He battled a multitude of people while there, and was awarded some money from a man who rambled about greed and rewards. He didn't stay in Black City or White Forest long, their extreme views on sin and innocence too much for his grey-toned beliefs.

Instead, he had Swoobat return him to Opelucid City and, with the training of the three other cities assisting them, he and his team went through Victory Road.

* * *

Touya jerked awake and was greeted with the sight and smell of a sterile hospital room. The heart monitors connected to him began to skyrocket, then swiftly returned to a normal tempo. A doctor appeared right away, her pink hair signifying her rank as a pokemon nurse, with an Audino at her side.

Before either healer could do anything, however, a black blur rushed past the two and pounced on the bedridden boy. Touya didn't react negatively and instead cradled the pokemon closer, feeling it shake and chatter small rebukes at him. The nurse returned his other pokemon to him as Emolga reclaimed his shoulder, all of them shaking in their pokeballs in irritation and desire to be free.

"You're very lucky young man," the nurse told him softly. "It appears a Zweilous found you and your team as you slept. Your Beartic sent it running, but not before it injured and paralyzed you with a Dragonbreath attack. Your pokemon grew worried, and conquered the rest of Victory Road to get you the medical attention you needed."

Touya smiled brilliantly at that, and his pokemon grew still in their capsules as his hands grew warm around them. Once he signed himself out, he hurriedly exited the Pokecenter, and his team released themselves in bright flashes.

"Thank you," he whispered, and they happily crowded around him. Always, they seemed to answer back. The next day, they challenged the Elite Four.

* * *

He felt the numbness in his heart almost swallow him whole. Emolga, his last conscious pokemon, tried to stand up and challenge Caitlyn's Musharna again, but he knew she couldn't go on anymore.

"Enough," he called, and she tiredly withdrew and perched on his shoulder. Caitlyn jumped a little at his voice, then gave a slight smile to the boy who silently got out his money.

"You did really well," she tried to encourage. "I was your last Elite Four you had to fight, right?" He nodded. "Your pokemon just weren't used to fighting endlessly. Even then, you really woke me up." She smiled then. "I actually had to focus!"

He nodded again, paid the woman for her victory and exited for the Pokecenter. He handed his pokemon to the nurse silently and waited for her to heal them. When she finished he nodded in thanks and went to a room to spend the night.

As soon as he stepped through the doorway, all of his pokemon appeared in a blinding flash of light. Alone in the company of the beings he felt he'd let down, Touya fell to his knees and a tear escaped his eye. "I…I'm sorry," he rasped, his voice hoarse from his emotions and lack of use.

Emolga rushed into his arms and chattered comfortingly into his neck, Swoobat close behind. Beartic gently ruffled his hair with her claws, cradling him like a mother would her distraught child, while Samurott, Emboar, and Serperior hung their heads, ashamed of their failure.

They looked at Touya, their eyes steely, and he nodded. "I know," he said. The next day, they retreated to Lacunosa to train. The numbness went away.

* * *

He returned two months later, his eyes ablaze, and his pokemon strong. He swept through the Elite Four, defeating them with uncommon ease. He defeated Caitlyn last, the Psychic user smiling at him as he accepted her money and he gave her a content look back.

"Good luck," she whispered, and he smiled quietly and turned to the entrance once more. The elevator ride to Alder proceeded silently with the exception of Emolga who chattered and crackled her fur in anticipation.

Alser greeted him at the bottom of the ride, his face calm and indifferent to Touya's presence. It was so different from the enthusiastic Champion that Alder often portrayed that Touya paused and stared at him, Emolga growing silent as well.

The Champion looked at him, eyes unreadable. "You're the one they call Black, correct?"

He nodded, ignoring the social niceties and urge to correct the man. Let him believe what he will, Touya decided.

The man continued. "I am the Champion Alder, and I would normally say it's a pleasure to meet you, but it's not." Warning bells rang in Touya's head, and Emolga tensed. "Most people only get this far through hard work and love of their pokemon, but you…you're something different."

Touya wanted to deny this, to tell him the truth, but the words stuck bitterly in his throat, choking him.

"You pursue strength relelntlessly, to where you no longer even command your pokemon to attack. What kind of _Trainer_ is it," Alder spat, "that does not even communicate with his own pokemon?"

Sparks flared from Emolga's cheeks angrily and Touya felt the rest of his team rattle their pokeballs ominously.

"Do not answer that. I have seen enough." Alder raised a pokeball, and Emolga flew to the battleground. "You won't become Champion today!"

* * *

The battle was brutal, and almost completely one-sided. All of Touya's pokemon fought harshly, their anger toward Alder an icy blade that slashed and sent all of his pokemon to their knees. When Bouffalant finally fell, Samurott's sword an inch from his head, both Trainers' knees gave out, Emboar catching Touya before he fell.

Alder looked at all of his pokemon unconscious around him, and shot Touya a cold look. "You…you are not meant to be champion. But I suppose what I say doesn't matter. Go; register you and your pokemon as the new Champion. I will remain the Champion Trainers aspire to defeat until you are old enough to carry the mantle yourself." Touya nodded and straightened up, Emolga glaring at Alder from her master's shoulder and the others returning to their pokeballs.

He walked past the man and went into the Room of Champions. He registered and healed his pokemon there and then it asked for his name. He paused and looked questioningly at Emolga. She nodded, and he smiled sadly back and returned to the machine.

**B**

**L**

**A**

**C**

**K**

He was still Touya to those who mattered, but those who mattered were always with him anyway.

* * *

He continued to travel, because the deal he made with Professor Juniper had him still finding new pokemon. After his father died, Touya's mother became depressed. Touya was certain he would have followed her down that path were it not for Emolga. They returned to Driftveil after his father's death, Nimbasa too fresh of a wound to stay in.

That was his greatest mistake.

His mother went missing one night, only to be found two days later, an inch away from death. She had met her husband in the Cold Storage, his neighbors had whispered, and had nearly died waiting for him to come back.

He moved them to Accumula Town the, in a bid to save his mother. He met Professor Juniper while in Accumula, and a deal was made; he would travel and collect data on the various pokemon throughout the region, and in return she would look after his mother.

* * *

His fondness of caves was to his advantage as he captured, recorded, and released the Three Pokemon of the Sword. They were powerful in their own right, but they were not meant to be his partners, because he already his partners. They were understanding, if remorseful about not being able to join him.

He continued to travel throughout the region, until he caught and released or saw every pokemon in Unova. After registering the existence of all Unovan pokemon and returning the machine to Professor Juniper, he went with his team to Lacunosa, and entered the Giant Chasm.

He went into Kyuurem's cave and waited.

Sure enough, the air grew colder and the sound of scales rasping over stone filled the cave. Soon, the hulking form of Kyuurem appeared, circling threateningly around Touya. The boy and his Emolga didn't bother moving, the teen locking eyes with the powerful dragon.

The creature tensed, its head rearing back…and then it relaxed, settling its massive body around the boy.

Touya smiled, content and warm in the Ice Dragon's coils, and stayed with Kyuurem the rest of the week.

* * *

Professor Juniper was inattentive one day, excited about prospective trainers that would begin their journey next year. But the consequences of her actions were far reaching.

His mother had wandered to the route between Accumula and Nuvema and had walked to the water, stumbling in and disturbing the wildlife.

The Frillish had come out, angry and vengeful.

They had swarmed her, grabbing at her arms and legs, and then they had dragged her under. It was for the best, Professor Juniper tried to insist, her eyes clouded with tears and guilt. She would've lived only half a life, this was putting her out of her misery.

Touya had listened to her words on his X-Transceiver (which only had once screen as it was an older model) and hung up. He looked around, and sighed as Emolga cooed worriedly at him.

Now, only his pokemon remembered his true name, his mother gone and his name forgotten with her.

* * *

He travelled even more throughout the land, trying to find a place that suited him and his team the best. Relic Castle was alright, but too dry for some of his team, Pinwheel Forest too close to civilization to grant solitude; Challenger's Cave didn't give he and his team enough sunlight, Black City too sinful, White Forest too innocent, and the Battle Subway in Nimbasa wasn't even up for consideration.

He finally settled in the Giant Chasm, Kyuurem at ease with the one that mirrored it so thoroughly (Touya's dominance through capturing and releasing the Dragon also helping to settle the rocky waters between them). He easily figured out how to travel between Kyuurem's cave and the rest of the Chasm, and relished in the difficult pokemon he faced.

Touya smiled; this would be the perfect place for him and his family.

* * *

A year passed with Touya training with his pokemon in the Giant Chasm. He'd disposed of his hat and lost the zipper to his jacket during that time, his clothes developing tears along the way. He only went to Lacunosa for essentials such as remedies and new clothes (barring his treasured jacket and hat), gathering food in the wilderness and leaving the management of his hair to Beartic's capable claws.

It was during one of these trips to Lacunosa that he heard the whispers. They told of the rising crimes and speeches committed by a "Team Plasma", who sought the liberation of pokemon. They also talked of a rising trainer, with an unusual connection to her pokemon, who was going through the League and fighting against Team Plasma.

Touya heard the whispers, but shrugged and turned away, Emolga as uninterested in the rumors as he. It was not his place to decide if this girl was one of the Heroes of Legend, nor did he care if she was.

He was content to stay in his Chasm with his pokemon, silent and warm.

* * *

This has got to be the most confusing story I've written yet. It is also one of those rare, "the entire pokemon story in one chapter" fics that are like the fast foward on the dvd player on steroids. But I actually like it *smiles* There are a lot of weird inferences though, and I'd like to see if anyone can figure out what they are. Hints:

1) The cold isn't temperature related, he started his journey in the fall.

2) His father's death is referenced.

3) Why Team Plasma is around in the real game is referenced.

4) His connection to Kyuurem is referenced.

So yeah. For those who wonder at the title, it's from how comments on fashion are often, "red is the new black" or whatever. In the end, I made Touya/Black's team mirror Red's coincidentally: all three starters, an electric rodent he keeps out all the time, a "power-house" pokemon, and a pokemon that evolves through friendship (I am going by original Gold/Silver/Crystal team, with Espeon and not Lapras). I know Beartic's introduction into the team was awkward and premature, but I hadn't played the game in a while, and had assumed that you could catch a Cubchoo in the Cold Storage.

And I do realize that I awkwardly capitalized some things, if they seem wrong, please feel free to tell me. I may also expand on this universe with side-stories, like where Touko/White challenges Black for the title of Champion, or something.

Please review.

Ja ne!


End file.
